Case Number 04388

THE WRONG ARM OF THE LAW

The Charge

It's the left one. The wrong arm. In case you were wondering.

Opening Statement

If you are looking for a dose of dry, low-key, sardonic British wit, look no
further than The Wrong Arm of the Law, a Peter Sellers crime caper spoof
rarely seen by anybody. The reason for this, as it turns out, is the dozens and
dozens of other, similar movies that completely overshadow its existence.
Luckily, Sellers and company save the film from total oblivion with their subtle
and wry performances.

Facts of the Case

In the London underground world of crime, nobody runs a better racket than
Pearly Gates (Peter Sellers). By day, he fronts an haute-couture clothing shop
(complete with svelte smoking jacket and faux French accent) where he gathers
info about the latest jewelry acquisitions of London's elite. By night, his gang
of thieves set out to rob the wealthy debutants blind.

Unfortunately, things have started to take a turn for the worse. It seems
the police have suddenly acquired an uncanny ability to predict the actions of
Gates's gang and show up seconds after the robbery has taken place to confiscate
the stolen goods. After job after job goes down the pipes, with dawning clarity,
Pearly realizes two things.

First, his gang is falling victim to another gang of rival thieves, who
dress up as police officers in order to alleviate the ill-gotten gains right out
of their hands! And secondly, that there must be a traitor somewhere in his
midst! Nobody is above suspicion either...not even his sultry girlfriend, who
seems to take a keen interest in his activities.

The Evidence

The Wrong Arm of the Law is a dry British comedy; not like a bottle of
white wine is dry, but like the Sahara Desert is. Jokes fly right past you with
barely a noise, and you find yourself rewinding the film, trying to catch the
jokes as they fly by, like a flittering butterfly slipping through your fingers.
This is not a criticism of the film itself so much as a polite observation; at
its core, The Wrong Arm of the Law is a cute and harmless gangster spoof,
but a laugh riot it is not.

Sellers keeps this film rolling (albeit a slow roll) with his deadpan
performance as Cockney crime lord Pearly Gates, but always with a tiny
half-smile always on his face, as if he has a hard time taking the role
seriously. It is an incredibly subtle and amusing performance, but this is
indicative of main problem with The Wrong Arm of the Law. Subtlety be the
name of this film, and when everything is executed with impeccable subtlety, in
the deafening silence that remains there is nothing that stands out as
noteworthy or exceptional. As a gangster spoof, it plays too straight to be
hilarious, but as a serious film, it is far too wry and playful to be taken
straight. Despite good performances from Sellers and the supporting cast, it
exists in that comfortable-but-unfulfilling middle ground that, sadly, most
films ultimately end up in, doomed to certain obscurity...too good to be
notoriously bad, but too bad to be memorable.

The Wrong Arm of the Law is not a bad film, by any means. In a
languid sort of way, it exudes a certain grace, wit, and charm that is slightly
endearing. Though the first part is rather slow, it gets better as it picks up
speed, especially when the bumbling police department gets wind of the IPO scam
(impersonating a police officer...one of the oldest tricks in the book!). It
ends with a particularly satisfying, over-the-top sequence of police sting, bank
robbery, Aston Martin car chase, and massive fistfight, done with a typical
lighthearted British comedic cheekiness. There is lightheartedness to the film
that makes it both sweet and dull at the same time, and nary a single gun is
ever depicted, despite all the robbing, car chasing, brawling, and otherwise
stressful activity afoot.

The gangsters are ineffectually harmless in their ineptitude, and the police
officers are slapstick in their clueless bumbling. Thus, comedy ensues...or so
I'm told. In particular, the bumbling, over-eager Inspector Parker
(affectionately referred to as "Nosey," obviously), played by Lionel
Jeffries, plays off Sellers particularly well, and their scenes together are the
highlight of the film. Also, blink and you'll miss Michael Caine in an
uncredited bit part. I know I did.

The full screen transfer is something of a pickle. On the one hand, the
black and white photography has been newly remastered for this DVD. Black levels
are stronger than black coffee, and detail shines through with exceptional
clarity. On the other hand, the film is still very damaged, suffering from
terrible holes, flecks of dirt and dust, and vertical scratches running down
entire segments of film. And while the black levels are quite luscious, at times
the contrast seems to have been rendered far too high...the blacks look deep and
rich, but the whites are almost blinding to the eye, and faces disappear behind
halos of excessive black/white contrast. Plus, the detail starts to get a bit
funny upon close inspection...nasty jagged lines start cropping up, with some
shimmering along the edges, and things get awfully pixelated and jagged when
zoomed up close. Overall, The Wrong Arm of the Law certainly sports a
nice enough transfer, highlighting some excellent black and white photography
considering the relative obscurity of the title, but the transfer is far from
perfection.

The audio is very mono, and metronomes back and forth between fairly
competent and well balanced to a cracking, distorted mess. This film definitely
feels its age, but for the most part, the sound is quite passable, suffering no
major defects beyond the occasional distortion or crackle. The soundtrack is
quite charming, a rompy, jazz ensemble of upright bass, muted trumpets, and
strings that fits the madcap mayhem that ensues throughout the film.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

To call this DVD "bare-bones" would be doing bones everywhere a
disservice. This is less than nothing. We're talking scene access and play movie
here. Not a single thing more. Not even liner notes. Heck, even a cast biography
or DVD credits would look good right about now.

Closing Statement

An incredibly no-frills DVD release, The Wrong Arm of the Law will
most likely appeal to Sellers fans or connoisseurs of early British comedy, but
most people would glide over it without giving it a second glance. And there is
no getting around the fact that, for most people, The Wrong Arm of the
Law is not even worthy of that first glance.

Still, the film is totally harmless, and at times, even worth a chuckle or
two. But ultimately, The Wrong Arm of the Law is merely a footnote in
both the world of British comedy films and in Sellers's filmography. But if
you're into footnotes, give it a go. You can do a lot worse.